§ 37.2-909

Placement of committed respondents

A. Any respondent committed pursuant to this chapter shall be placed in the custody of the Department for control, care, and treatment until such time as the respondent’s mental abnormality or personality disorder has so changed that the respondent will not present an undue risk to public safety. The Department shall provide such control, care, and treatment at a secure facility operated by it or may contract with private or public entities, in or outside of the Commonwealth, or with other states to provide comparable control, care, or treatment. At all times, respondents committed for control, care, and treatment by the Department pursuant to this chapter shall be kept in a secure facility. Respondents committed under this chapter shall be segregated by sight and sound at all times from prisoners in the custody of a correctional facility. The Commissioner may make treatment and management decisions regarding committed respondents in his custody without obtaining prior approval of or review by the committing court.

B. Prior to the siting of a new facility or the designation of an existing facility to be operated by the Department for the control, care, and treatment of committed respondents, the Commissioner shall notify the state elected officials for and the local governing body of the jurisdiction of the proposed location, designation, or expansion of the facility. Upon receiving such notice, the local governing body of the jurisdiction of the proposed site or where the existing facility is located may publish a descriptive notice concerning the proposed site or existing facility in a newspaper of general circulation in the jurisdiction.The Commissioner also shall establish an advisory committee relating to any facility for which notice is required by this subsection or any facility being operated for the purpose of the control, care, and treatment of committed respondents. The advisory committee shall consist of state and local elected officials and representatives of community organizations serving the jurisdiction in which the facility is proposed to be or is located. Upon request, the members of the appropriate advisory committee shall be notified whenever the Department increases the number of beds in the relevant facility.

C. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when any respondent is committed under this article, the Department of Corrections and the Office of the Attorney General shall provide to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, a copy of all relevant criminal history information, medical and mental health records, presentence or postsentence reports and victim impact statements, and the mental health evaluations performed pursuant to subsection B of § 37.2-904 and § 37.2-907, for use in the treatment and evaluation of the committed respondent.

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